Hiram a



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

HIRAM A. REID, OF BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTER ATTACHMENTS `FOR RAKING AND BINDING- GRAIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 104,883, dated June 28,k 1870.

To all whom Ait may concern Be it known that 1, HIRAM A. REID, of Beaver Dam, in the county 'of Dodge and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Reaper Attachment for Binding Grain with vertical sections, showing opposite views of the truck, &c. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the gripers. Fig. 4 is a side or front view of the divider. v

. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

The nature of this invention consists in constructing' and operating a harvester-rake so that it shall gather the grain from the reaperplatform and clasp it tightly, yet leaving a clear open space around the middle of the bundle, and, at the same time, lift it up to a convenient height and position for a man to put his arms around it and bind it with a grain band.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, [will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The platform A is crossed by ribs m m m, of iron or Wood, which form a raised support for the grain, so that the curved raketeeth e a a a. will not fail to catch under it.

The grain side of the platform has sloped bearings n n n n, of iron, or other hard material, under the drop of each rake-tooth,for the purpose of causing the grain to fall and lie on the platform on a radial line with the rake movement, and also to partially break the fall of the rake when it drops down to its working position,-and thus give it a sliding impulse forward, on its sweep movement, across the platform.

At the binding side of the platform the ribs are turned up, as at ll l, so as vto resist the sliding of the grain before the rake, and thus press it into the curved teeth a a a a, ready for the gripers N N to close upon it.

The bevel-gear wheel H is to engage with a bevel-gear on the hub or shaft of the reaper drive-wheel, and carriesA a wrist or crank pin, lc, with or without a friction-roller,whicl1 plays in the curved slot or cam I on the end of the lever G, thus communicating a vibratory' and rest motion to the sweep E, by means of the connecting arm or rod t w.

The sweep E is hinged at o to a stud, or other tirm support, and is firmly bolted to the truck B B, as indicated at r, thus actuating it to and fro across the platform, but -with a taut rest at the binding side of the platform, thereby holding the bundle tightly clasped, while also giving the binder time totie his band.

But the curved slot or camI may be attached on the under side of the sweep E, and the wheel H and crank-pin k combined with it there, and operated by shaft and bevel'gears, or by chain-gear, or other device, to produce the desired movements of the truck B B. Different arrangements of these parts may be made, to adapt them to different styles of reaper-frame and gearing.

The rake-beam C C, bearing all the grainhandling. part-s of the machine, is hinged upon the truck B B, as indicated at s s, Fig. 2, and may rest on a bracket, or other device, to serve as a drop bumper, and to support the rake-teeth just enough to prevent their points from dragging on the platform. y

The truck B B runs on two wheels, attached fore and aft, on its rake side, and their curved track is covered with a lirm cap or fender, P P, to prevent the truck from being thrown out of position by any amount of jolting of the reaper, and also to prevent any waste of grain by its falling under the truck-wheels and 'getting thrashed out. Y

rlhe rake-beam C O has, hinged at its back edge, a rock-shaft, D 'D F, which is crankformed at F, and terminates with a frictionroller, t'.

The rake-teeth a a a a are irmly fastened to the rock-shaft D I) F, and when the roller t" is forced down, the teeth are thereby swung forward and upward.

The gripers N N are hinged to the. front edge of the rakc-beam at l d, and the two mid-v dle lteeth bear friction-pins c o, that play in the griper-slots b b, whiclr causes'the middle rake-teeth and the gripers to close together with a clasping action, and'thus grasp the bundle of' grain tightly at two points, but with sufficient space between them for a man to easily put the band around.

The divider O is hinged to the rakebeam at y, and a friction-pin on the outer rake-tooth plays in the dividenslot g, Fig. 4, so that, when the rake-teeth are swung forward and upward, the divider will also be `thrown Vup quickly, and far enough to clear the rake of` y ment, the roller L follows the bearings R It,

thus 'holding the rake up, so as to clear the falling grain, until the roller passes the rear end ofthe bearing, and thus lets the rake drop down to the position shown in Fig. l, ready for another sweep; but, at the reverse start, the roller 'i is forced vupward by the camtongue c, thus compelling the rake-teeth and gripers to unclasp and drop the bundle before the rake can move back.

The rake-teeth a a a a and the gripers N N mav be made of iron or steel.

The degree of pressure given to the bundle of grain will depend on the amount of resistance that has to be `overcome in tilting it up to the binding position. Hence, a spring, t, is xed on the inner side of the truck B B, and a set-screw, k, passes through the rakebeam, so as to press upon the spring t when the rake is tilted up, and the greater or lesser projection ot' this screw against the spring de termines the amount ot' resistance to be overcome, and hence, also, the degree of pressure around the bundle.

A tray, M, closed at the lower end and open at the upper end, is attached in convenient position to hold grain Afor the binder to make his bands of. He gets his band ready in his hand while the rake is making its movement, and the instant the bundle is brought up he 'throws 'his arm around it with the band, graspsian'd ties the ends, and thus completes' his part ofthe operation. When the rake moves back it instantly unclasps from the bundle, thus dropping it to the ground through the gap S in the platform.

When the binder wants a supply of band material, he clasps his arm around the bundle, without any band, till the rake, opening as it moves back, leaves the grain in his arms unbound, and he lays it down in the tray M, in the obvious manner.

A seat, L, is suitably constructed and ar ranged for the binder to sit in while at work, and it is also made adjustable, forward and back, by a set-pin, or' other device, so that men of different size can sit in convenient position relative to the movement of the rake.

A lever is to be conveniently placed, so that the binder can instantly stop or start thc rake `movement at any point desired, by throwing the wheel H in or out of gear. An awning may also be attached, to protect the binder from the hot sun rays while at work, and suitable stirrups q q are iiXed on opposite sides of the gap S, for him to brace his feet in.

When it is desired to harvest green oats, dax, buckwheat, clover, or any crop that needs to lie in the field to cure after cutting, instead of being bound up immediately, the binders seat, the tray, andthe gripers are removed, and straight rake-teeth are substituted for the curved ones. The machine then operates simply as a self-rake reaper. Having thus described the construction and operation of my machine, I claim' as new and desire to secure by Letters l?atent l. The combination ofthe ribs m m m, and their terminal elevations l l L, with the raketeeth a a a a, and thegripers N N, all constructed combined, and operated substantially in the manner and tor the purposes described.

2. The truck B B, in combination with the sweep E, the curved slot or cam l', wheel H, and crank-pin k, (and with or without the lever G and connectingarm u c,) all substantially as described, and for the several purposes indicated.

3. The rake-beam G C, in combination with the truck B B, and the wbeelway cap or fend er P P, substantially as described.

. 4. The ,combination of the rake-beam C C, and roller h, with the snap-latch f and the bearing R l, for the purposes and in the manner substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the rock-shaft D D F with the rake-beam C G, and with the raketeeth a a a a, and the roller i, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the rock-shaft l) D F, and roller e', with the cam Q and cam-tongue e, substantially as set forth, and for the purposes explained.

7. The combination of the gripers N N, with the rake-beam C C, the shaft I) D F, and the rake-teeth a a a a, operating substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination of the spring t and the set-screw k, or an equivalent device, with the truck B B and the rake-beam C U, for the purposes and in the manner substantially as described.

HIRAM A. REID.

Witnesses S. R. ALLEN, E. P. GoonHUE. 

